Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison eked out a win Tuesday in his bid for Minnesota attorney general, overcoming the domestic-abuse allegations that threatened to derail his political career in the MeToo era.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Ellison held a 50-to-45 percent lead over former state Rep. Doug Wardlow, a conservative Republican who previously worked for the Christian legal non-profit Alliance Defending Freedom.
“I want to let you know that this race has been a tough race, but with your help, with God’s help, we persevered,” Mr. Ellison told supporters at this victory party in a speech on Facebook.
Mr. Ellison’s ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan accused him in August of emotional and physical abuse during their relationship, including a 2016 episode in which she says he dragged her from bed screaming obscenities.
Mr. Ellison, the Democratic National Committee deputy chair, repeatedly denied the claims, but the charges dogged him and other Minnesota Democratic candidates as Republicans accused them of a MeToo double-standard.
JUST IN: Democrat Keith Ellison elected Minnesota attorney general, surviving ex-girlfriend’s abuse claim, according to AP pic.twitter.com/YjmpT7zB1i
— KARE 11 (@kare11) November 7, 2018
An investigator hired by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party said in a report that she was unable to substantiate the allegations, but critics blasted the probe as hopelessly biased.
During the campaign, Mr. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, vowed to use the AG’s office to mount the “legal resistance” to the Trump administration on issues such as immigration and net neutrality.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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